Police shoot, wound woman near Mag Mile

May 09, 2009

A Chicago police officer shot and critically wounded a woman inside a car as she tried to grab his gun near the Magnificent Mile Downtown this afternoon, authorities said.

Around noon, officers responded to a call that a woman who had earlier bought items with stolen credit cards at a Louis Vuitton store, 919 N. Michigan Ave., had returned and was trying to make more purchases, police said.

When officers arrived, the woman fled to a car where a male accomplice was waiting, Harrison District Cmdr. Eric Washington said. A struggle broke out when the woman was inside the car and, at one point, the woman tried to grab the officer's gun, according to Washington. The officer then shot the woman in the abdomen.

Two officers suffered minor injuries and were taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

Witnesses said the struggle occurred as the woman tried to drive away with one of the responding officers inside the black Chevrolet Monte Carlo.

The woman lies wounded on Walton Place just east of Michigan Avenue.(Photo by Paul Gulyas) | MORE PHOTOS

The man had fled from the car and the woman had jumped behind the wheel as the officers came upon them, said witness Edis Sivac, who witnessed the situation unfold from outside the Drake Hotel.

"They were trying to make a run for it," Sivac said.

One of the officers got in and tried to stop her, said Sivac, who added that it looked like the officer may have pulled the parking brake on the vehicle to keep her from taking off.

"She tried to drive away, but the car kept stalling back and forth," Sivac said.

Witness Lucian Muresan, a valet at the Millennium Knickerbocker Hotel, said he saw the officer use a chemical spray on the woman and then shoot her when she continued trying to drive the car into the intersection at Walton Place and Michigan Avenue.

Another witness said the man came back and was asking questions about the woman, prompting onlookers to point him out to police. He was arrested as he tried to walk away in the crowd that gathered.

The wounded woman was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital where she was in critical condition undergoing surgery this afternoon, officials said. Witnesses said she was awake and yelling after the officer wounded her.

A black leather purse could be seen on the hood of the car, which was towed towed away several hours after the shooting.

A manager at the Louis Vuitton store declined comment as detectives interviewed employees this afternoon.

Walton Place had been blocked with police tape in front of the Drake and the historic Palmolive Building on Walton Place over to Michigan Avenue for much of the afternoon. A group of onlookers stood watching the police activity and several tourists were told they needed to walk around the block to get to their hotels.

The Independent Police Review Authority is investigating the shooting, said spokesman Mark Payne, a probe which could take at least 6 months to complete.